In order to have any chance of being invited to the playoffs, the Cerritos women’s volleyball team would have to beat first-place El Camino.
But the Warriors showed why they are the conference champions by sweeping the Falcons Wednesday at El Camino’s South Gym by scores of 30-27, 30-15 and 30-18.
Cerritos assistant coach Jesse Rodriguez said that the team started the match well, and its “confidence was good at the beginning.”
He added that the second game was when El Camino started to really play.
“I think if we had played together like we did against Pasadena, we probably would have done better.”
The first game was close, with five points the biggest lead by either team.
Trailing 15-12, Cerritos (9-8, 7-7 in South Coast Conference) scored four straight points.
El Camino (14-0 in SCC) tied the game at 16 on a kill by outside hitter Dana Peters.
The Falcons regained the lead when Peters hit the ball out of bounds, and then added four more points to lead 21-16, the last two on blocks by middle blocker Vanessa Cid.
The Falcons could not hold service for the rest of the game, and after a Cerritos time out, the Warriors took the lead, 25-24 on a kill by outside hitter Elizabeth Hazell.
El Camino added another point when Falcons’ outside hitter Arelyn Gallardo hit the ball out of bounds.
With a 26-24 lead, three straight Warrior serves hit the net, but the Falcons turned the ball back each time.
The Warriors then won the game on a block by outside hitter Amanda Page, 30-27.
While Cerritos continued to hang tough, El Camino pulled away at the end of games two and three with rallies of 8-1 and 9-1, respectively.
Cid said that while the team had played a good first game, some players “weren’t mentally in the game, and I guess they brought the team down a little bit towards the end.
“But I think we had a good game.”
Rodriguez said that last year’s El Camino team was made up entirely of freshmen, like the Falcons this year, and finished fourth in the conference.
“And I told them that, next year, if we all come back, we could do the same thing.
“Physically, we’re probably better than anybody in our league.
“But experience is what we lack, (as well as) knowing how to win and wanting to win.
“And togetherness helps a lot.”
